Albert yon derschait



(No Model.)

A. VON DERSCHAU. SAFETY LOCK POR PIRE ARMS.

INVENTOR;

WlTNESSESZ Attorney.

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UNrTED STATES PATENT Ormes.

ALBERT VON DERSCIIAU, OF VEISENBERG, GERMANY.

SAFETY-LOCK FOR FIRE-ARMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,712?, datedDecember 30, 1890. Application filed August 1,1890. Serial No. 360,622.(No model.) Patented in France August 16, 1888, No. 192,425; in BuglaudAugust 16, 1888, No. 11,851; in Italy August 23,1888,

No. 23,976; in Belgium August 23, 1888, No. 82,989; in Sweden September10, 1888, No. 2,183; in Portugal November 6, 1888, No. 1,287; inSwitzerland November 21, 1888, No. 96; in Spain December 7, 1888, No.8,659, and in Austria-Hungary May 4,

To all wiz/0m it may concern:

Beitknown that I, ALBERT voN DERsoHAU, a subject of the Emperor ofGermany, residing at ll'feisenberg, Alsace, German Empire, have inventedcertain Improvements in Fire- Arms, (for which patents have been grantedin France, No. 192,425, dated August 16, 1888; in Great Britain, No.11,851, dated August 1G, 1888; in Italy, No. 23,976, dated August 23,1888; in Belgium, No. 82,989, dated August 23, 1888; in Portugal, No.1,287, dated November G, 1888; in Switzerland, No. 99, dated November 2]1888; in Spain, No. 8,659, dated December 7, 1888; in Austria-Hungary,No. 7,841 and No. 30,629, dated May 4, 1889, and in Sweden, No. 2,183,dated September 10, 1888,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of firearms and ordnance wherein agravity-controller is employed to effect the discharge of the gun at agiven angle of elevation of thc barrel when the piece is elevated ordepressed by the soldier or gunner to that angle.

In my pending application, Serial No. 289,979, I show and describe anelectricallyactuated gravity-controller for this purpose; and the objectof mypresent invention (which embodies a division of that application)is to substitute for the said electrical device a simple mechanicaldevice for effecting the same result., thereby dispensing with thebattery and electrical apparatus mounted in the gunstock.

My invention will be hereinafter fully described, and its novel featurescarefully defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrative of my invention, Figure 1 isa sectional elevation of a Mauser riiie provided with my improvements,and Figs. 1 and 1b illustrate details of construction of the same. Fig.2 illustrates another form of the mechanical gravity-controller. Fig. 3shows the arrangement of the gravity device of Fig. 1 when the piece isto be discharged by elevating it.

My improvements provide a trigger-lock, detent, or stop, whereby thetrigger can be operated so as to discharge the piece only 1889, No.'7,841 and No. 80,629.

when the latter is elevated or depressed to a given angle.

Referring to Figs. 1, 1n, and 1b, a is the trigger of the gun, and b isthe trigger-guard. c is the lever, which forms a movable stop and whichturns about a pivot at c', and has its front end arranged to take behindthe trigger and prevent the latter from being pulled or drawn back. Asuitable spring 7c presses down upon the rear end of the lever c back ofthe pivot and keeps that end pressed down against a limiting-stop on theguard, the other or detcnt extremity of the lever being thus maintainedin its position behind the trigger a. Another lever d, which I will callthe displacing-lever, is pivoted in the gunstock at d', and its frontendtakes under the rear end of lever c. The rear end CZ of lever d isarranged to stand below the outlet of a bent or L-shaped tube or guidee, set in the gunstock and containing a ball or shifting weight f,which, when the gun is depressed to a certain angle, rolls down saidtube and falls upon'the end d of the displacing-lever, thus depressingthe latter and acting through the same to depress the detent end oflever c until it is below and t'ree from the trigger a, when the latter,now freed, may be drawn back and the gun tired.

In order that the angle of elevation at which the gun may be dischargedcan be varied at will within limits, I prefer to mount the tube@ in acircular casing c, set rotatively or movably in the gunstock andprovided with a pointer h, adapted to traverse a graduated plate i,iiXed to the stock. Fig. 1CL is a sectional elevation of this casing gand the tube e This view shows the position of the parts when the gunhas been depressed and the ball f has fallen on the displacing-lever.Fig. 1" shows the casing g in transverse section.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 1, l, and lb is adapted foreffecting the discharge of the gun by the depression of the barrelthereof. In Fig. 3 the tube e is represented as it will be arranged whenthe gun is to be discharged by elevating it. It is merely reversed inposition.

Fig. 2 illustra-tes a modified construction, wherein a pivotally-mountedtube containing some iuid (preferably mercury) is employed in lieu ofthe bent tube e and ball f. In this construction a straight closed tubee is piv otally mounted at j in the casing g and partially filled withmercury. Vhen the piece is held in an elevated position, the mercurywill flow to the shorter end of the tube and the latter will standinclined, as represented in dotted lines; but when the piece isdepressed to the discharging-point the mercury will flow to the longerend ofY the tube, and this end thus weighted will fall upon and depressthe displacing-lever d, as described, with respect to the ball f. Itwill be obvious that some variation in the construction of the device asabove described may be made without materially departing from myinvention, and I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. The combination, witha'gun having a trigger to eect the discharge, of a movable stop arrangedbehind the trigger to prevent it from being drawn back, thedisplacing-lever which displaces said stop and frees the trigger, and amechanical gravity-controlled mechanism, substantially as described,which actuates said displacing-lever when the gun is brought to apredetermined angle of elevation, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a gun having a trigger to effect the discharge,of the movable stop arranged behind the trigger to prevent the same frombeing drawn back, the displacing-lever which displaces said stop andfrees the trigger, the guide e, mounted in the gunstock with its openend over said displacing-lever, and the shifting weight in said guide,all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, Witlra gun having a trigger to eiect the dischargeand a movable stop to prevent said trigger from being actuated, of theshifting Weight mounted in the gunstock and adapted to fall when the gunis brought to a predetermined angle, and intermediate mechanism betweensaid Weight and movable stop, whereby the fall of said weight moves saidstop and frees the trigger, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALBERT VON DERSCHAU.

Witnesses:

A. Voe'r, E. FRANK.

